graft court Sandiganbayan has found a former state college president guilty of four counts of corruption for getting his sons paid as laborers although they had never showed up for work. In a 37-page petition, the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division ruled that Dr. Elpidio Locsin Jr., former president of the Iloilo State College of Fisheries (ISCOF) in Barotac Nuevo, violated Republic Act 3019, the anti-graft and corrupt practices law. Locsin was sentenced him to a minimum of six years and one month and a maximum of 10 years in prison and disqualified him from holding any public office. Locsin, who served as ISCOF president from 1998 to 2005, was also required to return the salaries paid to his children – Neil Arvin, Gelner Keats and Elpidio III. The anti-graft court said Locsin allowed his children to apply for the school's Student Labor Program – created under RA 7323 or the Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES) – intended for students whose families earn a yearly income of P36,000 and below. After taking the student assistance program, Locsin's three sons were assigned to the Office of the College President and the Integrated Fish Farm. In the complaint, the prosecution said Locsin's family income bracket did not qualify for the program. The prosecution added that witnesses saw Locsin's two sons Neil Arvin and Elpidio III playing basketball or biking in the campus at the time when they were supposed to be at work.
